


Wraith

by JotaroKujhoe



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: BAMF Reader, Blackwatch Jesse McCree, Blackwatch Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gabe and reader are basically father and daughter, Rating May Change, Sassy Reader, Slow Burn, reader is a little shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-03-08 20:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18902470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JotaroKujhoe/pseuds/JotaroKujhoe
Summary: [Jesse McCree x Reader - Slow Burn]Since the young age of 16, [Name] had called Overwatch her home, mentoring under both Gabriel Reyes and Ana Amari to climb the ranks before eventually being promoted to Commander Reyes' direct subordinate and his second in command. One fateful mission leads to a new Blackwatch recruit joining the team - an ex-member of the Deadlock gang by the name of Jesse McCree. She didn't like him one bit, and the feeling was mutual. However, grudges can't be kept forever, and eventually, the two warm up to each other. Before things got too far, though, the universe decided that it had other plans.





	1. Chapter 1

_Knock!_

_Knock!_

_Knock!_

 

Three sharp knocks sounded at [Name]’s door just as she filed a manila folder away into its proper place in her filing cabinet.

 

“Who is it?” She snapped, annoyance lacing her voice. “I’m filing paperwork, can you come back later?”

 

“S-sorry to interrupt you, Captain,” The person stuttered timidly. “U-um, Commander Reyes sent me. He asked if he could borrow you for a moment.”

 

“Come back later.”

 

“He said it’s urgent, captain.”

 

[Name] rolled her eyes but didn’t make a move to get up. Everything with Gabriel was urgent.

 

“What’s so urgent? Does he need me to go to pick up another ‘urgent’ order at Starbucks or something? Tell him to do it himself!”

 

A moment passed before [Name] heard the person on the opposite side of her door scramble away. That wasn’t a good sign.

 

Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the ID scanner by her door beep a confirmation, sliding open to reveal her irate superior.

 

“Hey Gabe!” [Name] cheerfully greeted.

 

“Don’t you ‘Hey Gabe’ me.” Gabriel grumbled. “You’re aware of the definition of urgent, correct?”

 

[Name] shrugged. “Sure. I have papers to file - urgently.”

 

Her commander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“ _Ay, dios mio_ … I should have you replaced.” He muttered before adding, “With someone that listens and doesn’t sass me, no less.”

 

“Wow, you’re really gonna say that to my face when you’re fully aware of the fact that you’re the one that trained me for, say, a year and a half? Who do you think I picked my asshole personality up from, huh?” [Name] scoffed. “It definitely wasn’t Ana… Plus, if you replace me, who else is going to watch your ass so you don’t do anything stupid?”

 

“I have Jack and Ana.” Gabriel replied dismissively.

 

“Both of whom have other duties aside from babysitting your ass.” She shot back. “Don’t lie to yourself, Gabe, you love me.”

 

Her commander raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

 

“Absolutely.” She responded without hesitation. “Anyway, what did you need from me?”

 

“I came to check if my messenger ever delivered my message.”

 

[Name] shook her head.

 

“Thought so. Kid scampered away like a spooked animal when he saw me coming.” Gabriel remarked, making [Name] crack a smirk.

 

“I mean, I don’t blame him. You’re terrifying. You can probably crush someone’s skull with your thighs alone.”

 

“Alright, you know what? You’re on recruit duty for a month. I don’t need you making fun of my ridiculously muscular thighs.”

 

“Whatever you say, Thunder Thighs.”

 

“Commander.” He corrected.

 

[Name]’s face fell as the realization dawned on her. “Wait, are you serious?”

 

“Very.”

 

“Gabe, don’t do this to me.” [Name] pleaded. “You know I hate dealing with the new recruits.”

 

Her commander merely shrugged. “You brought this upon yourself.”

 

There was an air of finality about the situation, so [Name] forced herself to drop the situation, instead choosing to slump down in her chair, defeated.

 

“Anyway, what I needed to tell you was that you, Genji, Moira and I are being deployed on a new mission.” Gabriel said, causing [Name] to perk up. “I’ll brief you on the way to the ship, we need to leave now.”

 

“Why wasn’t I told about this earlier?”

 

“You would have known, say, half an hour earlier if you had decided to open the door.” Gabriel sassed.

 

“But my paperwork was piling up!” [Name] defended. “You don’t understand my pain, you have a secretary!”

 

“Oh, the pain of having to do things yourself, boo hoo. You teenagers nowadays are so lazy.”

 

“Alright, alright, I get it old man. You’re starting to sound like Reinhardt.” [Name] playfully snarked. “You should be glad you have a secretary, we wouldn’t want Grandpa Reyes to break a hip or something.”

 

Gabriel balked at the words ‘old man’.

 

“Old man? _Mija_ , I’m only 35!”

 

“Basically a dinosaur. Don’t sweat it otherwise you’ll start growing grey hairs… Oh wait.” [Name] remarked, making her commander self-consciously readjust his beanie over his mop of curly, dark hair.

 

“ _Dios mio._ You’re a handful, you know that?”

 

[Name] hummed. “And you put up with me because you love me.”

 

“Debatable.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So, what exactly is our mission?” [Name] asked curiously.

  
“We’ve received information from an anonymous source of hostages being held captive in a Deadlock warehouse near Route 66.” Gabriel explained. “We have clearance to take anything that moves as hostile, since the entirety of Route 66 is controlled by the Deadlock gang, and we’ve also received a tip that they’ve acquired some new Omnic tech.”

 

A pit settled at the bottom of [Name]’s stomach. Something about this mission didn’t sit right with her…

 

“What’s up,  _ mija _ ? You look like there’s something on your mind.”

 

“Something doesn’t feel right about this mission. Feels like we’re about to walk into an ambush.”

 

“How?”

 

“Our source was anonymous, for one.” She began. “Do you really think we should blindly trust some stranger?”

 

“Their intel checks out. We have nothing to worry about.” Gabriel reassured [Name]. “Even if we did, you have Genji, Moira and I to back you up, and you trained under both me and Captain Amari. You’ll be fine.”

 

He was right, but his affirmations did nothing to calm the dread in [Name]’s stomach…

**(-)**

“Alright team, gear up! ETA to the drop zone is 10 minutes!” The Commander announced. “Remember, stick to the plan! We move in as a team - [Last Name], you’re in charge of picking hostiles off from a distance with your railgun. Shimada, you’ll be dealing with stragglers. O’Deorain, keep everyone alive. I’ll be dealing with close quarters. Got it?”

 

Everyone nodded. 

 

“Good. Let’s go.”

 

The small squad of four dropped from the ship and made their way to a small steel door embedded into the face of a cliff. There was a small keypad to the right of the handle.

 

Gabriel reached into his pocket for a small, silver device and stuck it on top of the keypad. A moment passed before it whirred to life before suddenly stopping as the door swung open, revealing a dimly lit warehouse.

 

“[Name], get on high ground and pulse the area for hostiles.” Gabriel quietly commanded.

 

She nodded, quickly scaling a nearby wall to get to the top shelf of high industrial shelving unit brimming with bricks of white powder that she knew for a fact wasn’t sugar.

 

She took cover behind a stack and tapped a button on her shoulder, summoning her small surveillance drone out of its dock. Immediately, it flew forward, scanning each and every room in the warehouse for any signs of life.

 

Nothing.

 

“All clear.” She declared after her drone finished its inspection.

 

But there was something wrong… It was quiet. Too quiet…

 

[Name] peered through the scope of her railgun to see if there was anything her drone had missed, and as she had suspected, she saw a flash of metal and a tiny movement in the very back of the warehouse.

 

“Gabe!” She hissed over comms. “Movement, far right, all the way in the back by that shipping container. I don’t know what it is, I can’t get a clear view and it’s too far out of range for me to scan with my drone.”

 

“Genji, see if you can get closer. Be careful.” Her commander said.

 

Silently like the ninja he was, Genji crept over to inspect whatever [Name] had seen through her scope.

 

“See anything?” Gabriel prompted.

 

“It appears to be a large hunk of scrap metal - wait, there’s something sitting on top of it. It looks like a… hat?”

 

“What?” Gabriel sounded just as confused as Genji was.

 

“I was right. It’s a bowler hat. Nothing too unusual about it aside from the fact that it’s abnormally small. Should I get closer?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

Genji moved closer until he finally stood in front of it.

 

“I was mistaken. It turned out to be an omnic of some sort, and it appears to be asleep.”

 

He circled around it, simply observing. The next instant he set his foot down, however, the sound of something toppling to the ground was heard.

 

Two green lights flashed on, causing Genji to curse in Japanese.

 

“It appears that I’ve just woken it.”

 

“Yeah, we can see that. Get back, Genji. Everyone else, get ready for a gunfight.” Gabriel commanded, just as alarms began blaring. 

 

Deadlock members began pouring in from every entrance and exit, outnumbering the four.

 

“Gabe, crowd control?” Moira remarked.

 

“Already on it.”

 

[Name] saw Gabriel jump off a moving platform and into a sizable crowd of hostiles before she heard his signature “Die, die, die!”. A few seconds passed before the cloud of gunpowder cleared, revealing a pile of dead bodies and spent shotguns in his wake. 

 

In her peripheral vision, she saw a flash of beige duck behind cover, before she saw the tip of a revolver peek out.

 

“Gabe, rouge shooter at 1 o’clock. He’s aiming at you, take cover.”

 

“Genji, can you deal with him?” Gabriel yelled over the sound of gunfire.

 

“Busy.” He replied before [Name] heard him shout “Let the dragon become me!”

 

“Someone’s gotta deal with him.” Gabriel said. “He’s taking potshots at me. Damn good marksman too, he shot my chestplate 4 times from at least 70 meters away.”

 

[Name] fired a few shots at where the shooter was, but he ducked behind cover before any could make contact.

 

She cursed. “I can’t get a clear shot. Permission to get closer?”

 

“Granted.”

 

[Name] activated her cloaking device and dropped down from her perch, landing nimbly on her feet.

 

She had to be careful - if she was shot by a stray bullet, she’d uncloak. If she attacked or tried to shoot, she’d uncloak. Her active camo was a high-risk, high-reward device, and if she made a mistake, she’d be waving goodbye to her sorry ass.

 

As quickly as she could, she made her way to the shooter’s last known location.

 

He was nowhere to be found.

 

[Name] cursed under her breath. She didn’t want to use her drone and risk compromising her position, so her only choice was to find him herself.

 

She slung her railgun onto her back and drew her secondary weapon, her trusty, 6-inch long combat knife with a wickedly sharp blade. Gabe had given it to her after she had been promoted to the rank of Captain.

 

The sensation of the hairs on the back of her neck standing up snapped [Name] out of her trip down memory lane. The shooter was nearby, but where…?

 

[Name] crept around, looking for the shooter. No shelf or hiding spot went unnoticed.

 

She turned a corner, and the instant she did, she saw something hit the ground before her vision went white and her ears began to ring with a noise reminiscent of tinnitus.

 

_ A flashbang? _

 

When her vision cleared, [Name] found herself held at gunpoint by a man dressed like a cowboy that couldn’t have been older than she was. 

 

“Found ya’. Appeared right outta thin air like a goddamn spectre.”

 

“How’d you find me? Luck?”

 

“You ain’t exactly quiet clompin’ around with those boots, sweetheart.” The cowboy remarked, gesturing to [Name]’s combat boots with his free hand. “Why are you here? You a cop or somethin’ here to bust our gang for trading contraband?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Thought so. Cops stopped showing up here years ago.” He remarked. “You military, then? You’re too well-armed to be from a rival gang.”

 

“Can’t confirm or deny that.”

 

The stranger rolled his eyes before repeating his question. “Why are you here, then? You some mercenary?”

 

“Classified.”

 

He rolled his eyes again. “Guess I’ll have to kill ya’ then. Shame, you’ve got a pretty face.”

 

[Name] shrugged nonchalantly and readied herself for a brawl. “You can try, but I don’t know how far you’ll get.”

 

The man scoffed. “Tough talk for someone armed with a knife. Ain’t your mama ever tell ya’ not to bring a knife to a gunfight?”

**(-)**

The man shot first, and if it wasn’t for the fact that [Name] had been expecting it, bits of her brain would probably be splattered on the wall behind her. Instead, the two bullets hit the wall behind her in a shower of plaster and drywall.

 

She was tempted to make a snarky comment, but another narrowly-avoided shot kept her from opening her mouth.

 

“Not so tough now, huh?” The man taunted, making [Name] roll her eyes.

 

She wasn’t worried, she had a plan. The man was using a revolver and he’d already spent 3 of the 6 bullets in the chamber. The moment he shot the 6th bullet, she was going to disarm and subdue him.

 

The man shot again, this time hitting [Name] square in the middle of her chestplate, forcing all the wind from her lungs.

 

He shot a fifth then sixth time, one of which [Name] was narrowly able to avoid by rolling to the side. The other embedded itself in her shoulder, making her wince ever-so-slightly.

 

His gun clicked empty, causing [Name] to smirk though she was slightly incapacitated.

 

She stood and brushed herself off. “Drop your weapon and put your hands behind your head. You’re under arrest.” 

 

The man grunted and dropped his revolver begrudgingly before kicking it over to her.

 

[Name] picked it up and holstered it before handcuffing the man. The whole time, he glared at her, burning holes into her skull.

 

“Can you not glare at me like that? You look ridiculous.” [Name] said. “I don’t want to be here either, so the faster we get this done, the less I have to see your ugly mug.”

 

“Kinda hard not to glare when you’re gettin’ arrested.” The man seethed. “You still haven’t told me shit about who you are or who you work for either.”

 

[Name] hummed, offering a response that only infuriated him more. “You’ll find out in time.”

 

“What kinda cryptic bullshit is that?!”

 

“Might wanna watch your mouth.” She warned casually.

 

“Fuck you!”

 

She shrugged. “You did this to yourself.”

 

[Name] untied the red bandana around the man’s neck and balled it up before roughly shoving it in his mouth, effectively gagging him, leaving him only able to glare at her.

 

She simply ignored him and placed a hand on her ear, activating her communicator.

 

“Gabe, you there? Can you hear me?”

 

“Loud and clear, agent. Is everything okay with you?”

 

“Peachy. I managed to subdue the little fucker that had been taking potshots at us earlier.” She said.

 

“He still alive?”

 

“Unfortunately.” [Name] said, disdain obvious in her voice.

 

“Good. We’re taking him back to base. Rendezvous at the dropship.”

 

“Understood.”

 

[Name] glanced at the man, who had been glaring at her the entire time. 

 

“Looks like today’s your lucky day. You’re coming with me. Walk.”

 

He grunted as [Name] prodded his back with her railgun.

 

“What, you think I’m gonna let you run free? Do you think I’m stupid?” [Name] asked incredulously. “Come on, move it. I have things to do and an injury to tend to.”


	3. Chapter 3

A few days after the team returned to base, Gabriel had called [Name] down to one of the smaller interrogation rooms during the wee hours of the morning.

 

[Name] stumbled into the adjacent observation room, half dressed and half-asleep, grumbling obscenities under her breath with every step. “Gabe, do you know what time it is? I think the clock said something like ‘too-fucking-early o’clock’.”

 

“Forgot you needed your beauty sleep. Sorry princess.” Her superior sarcastically apologized. “I called you here because I need a favor from you. The kid refuses to talk to me.”

 

“Have you tried using force?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Clearly, you didn’t use enough if he isn’t telling you anything.” [Name] commented dryly.

 

“That’s why you’re here. I need you to intimidate him without having to resort to breaking bones or other... extremities. We only resort to using those on criminals. The kid isn’t even of legal drinking age in the US.”

 

“My specialty, you mean. What do you want me to do, then?”

 

“See if you can get him to join Blackwatch. He has potential, and it’d be a damn shame to throw it away by throwing him in prison, especially at his age. I’ll be watching from here to step in if need be.”

 

“Gabe, this kid is a criminal. I saw his criminal record, it’s the size of a textbook.”

 

Gabriel’s mouth twitched upward. “ _Mija_ , Blackwatch is responsible for Overwatch’s illegal operations. No one will bat an eye.”

 

“Commander Morrison will, but whatever you say, Gabe. By the way, if he joins Blackwatch, am I still responsible for training him with the rest of the recruits?”

 

“Yup. Don’t think I’m letting you out of your punishment so easily.”

 

“Damn it!”

 

**(-)**

 

[Name] walked into the tiny interrogation room, only to find her subject fast asleep, cowboy hat pulled over his eyes. She nudged him once, only to receive no indication that he was alive aside from his light snoring.

 

She thought about nudging him again, but it would probably be just as ineffective as the first time and she didn’t feel like wasting her time. It was much too early for this, and she just wanted to get things over with, so she decided to remove his hat and expose him to the too-bright fluorescent lights overhead.

 

As soon as the hat left his head, exposing his face to the lights, he began to squint against them.

 

“Good morning, sleeping beauty! Did you have a nice nap?” [Name] asked patronizingly, causing the man to glare at her. “I have some questions to ask you, since you decided to be a pain in the ass for my superior. And, oh, lucky you, I’m not as nice as he is when it comes to questioning.”

 

He simply grunted and propped his feet up on the aluminum table in front of him before closing his eyes, presumably to go back to sleep.

 

_Asshole._

 

Luckily, two could play at that game, and she happened to be _excellent_ at it.

 

[Name] nonchalantly drew her leg back before kicking the chair out from under him, causing the man to hit the floor with a muted thud. She calmly took a seat on the chair, turning it around and placing her legs on either side before using the back as an armrest, earning a glare from the stranger. It was beginning to get repetitive.

 

“Can you do anything other than glare at me? You look like an idiot.” [Name] offhandedly remarked. “What’s your name, kid?”

 

No answer, other than a glare. Typical.

 

“Christ, you really are an asshole. Gabe was right.” She muttered. “Okay, I’ll start. My name is Captain [Name] [Last Name]. I’m Commander Reyes’ second-in-command.”

 

The cowboy’s lip curled. “You sure you don’t mean his secretary? You look the part.”

 

[Name] calmly raised her boot above the man’s crotch before bringing it straight down. The dense rubber heel landed less than a centimeter from where his family jewels were. It was obvious that she was beginning to lose her already-short temper.

 

“Let’s try this again. This time, I’m going to ask a question, and you’re going to answer it without being fucking rude, because in case you haven’t noticed, you’re not the one in charge here.” She snapped. “Now, you’re gonna tell me your name, otherwise I’ll do that again, and this time I won’t miss.”

 

The stranger blinked once and opened his mouth to sass her, but glanced at her boot and rethought his decision. “It’s McCree. Jesse McCree.”

 

“Was that so hard?” [Name] muttered to herself. “Okay, McCree. Do you know why you’re here and not back in that warehouse we found you in?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“Well, my boss, the Commander, has taken in interest in your shooting skills. You’re a pretty good shot for someone with no formal training.” She said. “He wants you to join us here in Blackwatch.”

 

“What’s Bl - ”

 

“I was getting there.” [Name] cut him off. “Blackwatch is Overwatch’s special-ops division. Doubt you’ve heard of it since because our operations are top secret, but that’s not important for now. What you need to know is that Blackwatch only has the best agents, because all of our missions are highly illegal and highly dangerous - we essentially do all of Overwatch’s dirty work. Sounds fun, right?”

 

“And you want me to join because…?”

 

[Name] shrugged. “It’s either Blackwatch or life in prison. You’re a wanted criminal, so it shouldn’t be a hard decision if there’s a brain somewhere in that thick skull of yours.”

 

“There’s no option for me to just leave in exchange for my silence?”

 

[Name] rolled her eyes so hard she could almost see the back of her skull.

 

“From the way this conversation has been going, I can already tell that you’re not the brightest. Maybe spending so much time in the desert did something to your brain, I don’t know. I’ll dumb things down for you, though: my superior, who you decided to give a hard time - which was a terrible idea by the way, since he’s the only thing separating you from a lifetime in prison - is the only person that is willing to give you a second chance at life because he doesn’t want to see your potential go to waste. My recommendation is for you to shut the fuck up for just one day, because your life is on the line, and life in prison is not pleasant.” She harshly explained. “I’ve seen my fair share of criminals and low-lifes come through Blackwatch, and you’re no different than any of them.”

 

McCree sneered up at her before uttering a sentence that she’d make him regret saying.

 

“Yeah? Well, I’ve seen my share of freaks on a power-trip because they’re desperate for their superior’s validation, and you’re no different from any of them either. All I see standing in front of me is a scared little girl trying too hard to impress her commander because no one else will pay her attention.”

 

[Name]’s eyes narrowed just a fraction.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. Do you mind repeating what you said?”

 

He sneered again. “I said, you’re just a scared little girl trying too hard to impress her commander because no one else will pay her attention. I’m sure you heard me the first time.”

 

“Oh, I did. I just wanted to make sure that you really are as dumb as you look.” [Name] responded, unnervingly calm. “See, I gave you so many chances to try and salvage things and prevent things from escalating, but you decided to mouth off, so now you get to face my wrath. I’m done with you, McCree. I’m not playing nice anymore.”

 

“You’re kidding, right? You’ve been making empty threats, you’re harmless.” He scoffed.

 

Before he could blink, [Name] was out of her seat and had McCree pinned to the floor, facedown with a knee digging in between his shoulder blades, a fist in his hair, and a combat knife pressed into his throat hard enough to draw a tiny amount of blood.

 

She leaned down to hiss, “One of the first lessons you’ll learn in Blackwatch is how to respect your fucking commanding officers. Mouth off to me one more goddamn time and I will not hesitate to make an example out of you by breaking both of your arms. When I let you up, I’m going to ask you one more question and you’re going to answer it with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, do you understand me?”

 

McCree nodded a bit too quickly, afraid of what you’d do next if he didn’t.

 

“Good.” [Name] grunted as she dusted herself off. “Now, for the last time, will you join Blackwatch? You’re a wanted criminal in the South and you have a criminal record the size of a textbook, so this should be an obvious answer.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Smart boy. Training starts tomorrow at 0800 hours. Commander Reyes will show you your room and uniform - wear it tomorrow. Consider this your unofficial welcome to Blackwatch.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!

Bright and early the next morning in the gymnasium, [Name] paced in front of a line of timid-looking Blackwatch recruits as Gabriel stood observing at the opposite end of the room. Jesse stood all the way at the end of the line, purposely ignoring her as he disinterestedly picked at his nails. [Name] squinted as she looked him up and down, unsure if she was hallucinating or if McCree really decided to disobey a direct order by not wearing his uniform, instead deciding to wear the same outfit he wore the day before - a shredded leather jacket and jeans.

 

She crossed the floor until she stood in front of him, who was still pointedly ignoring her presence.

 

“McCree, where’s your uniform?”

 

“In my room.”

 

“Wearing your uniform was a direct order, McCree. Everyone else is.”

 

“And?”

 

“The Commander is right there.” [Name] calmly remarked as she jabbed a finger over her shoulder. “I can just tell him that you refuse to cooperate and have you out of here by lunchtime.”

 

“You’re funny. Ever think of becoming a comedian?”

 

“I’ve heard my humor is a bit dry for that.” [Name] dryly responded. “I’ll let it slide for today since it’s the first day and I don’t feel like scaring the recruits. You’d better wear it tomorrow, though,  _ or else. _ ”

 

McCree grunted as she turned away to greet the rest of the recruits.

 

“Good morning, everyone. Glad to see most of you made it here on time.” She commented, only to receive a chorus of unenthusiastic greetings back.

 

“Damn, tough crowd this morning.” [Name] remarked. “Won’t be like that for long, though. Nothing like a couple of drills to wake you right up.”

 

There was a collective groan from everyone, making her suppress a grin. 

 

“Don’t worry about it. After a few weeks of them you’ll get used to it. Before we start, though, I need to take attendance and introduce myself.” She said. “My name is Captain [Name] [Last Name], as some of you may know already. I’m Commander Reyes’ direct subordinate and I’m usually dispatched as Blackwatch’s sniper for assassinations and for cover fire, but I’m also the main person dispatched on stealth missions, since they’re my specialty. That’s pretty much all there is to me, and I’ll be in charge of training you guys this month. Speaking of training, it’s usually target practice and sparring, but once you’re all in the swing of things, we’ll start doing drills and running simulations. Any questions?”

 

“Where’s our schedule?”

 

“Just give Athena, our resident AI, a yell. She’ll answer any of your questions and provide directions if needed. She’s very helpful.” [Name] explained. “Anything else?”

 

“Are you single?” Someone called out, making her roll her eyes.

 

“Not important. Moving on to roll call, just say here when I call your name. Akira?”

 

“Here!”

 

“Armstrong?”

 

“Here.”

 

“Benton?”

 

“Here.”

 

“DeSilva?”

 

“Here.”

 

“McCree?”

 

“Present.” McCree called, making [Name] roll her eyes again, but she decided not to say anything.

 

“Good, you’re all here. Your official Blackwatch career starts today, so start stretching. We’re going to do warm-ups and then some sparring.”

 

(-)

 

“Today’s warmups are 40 squats, 40 push ups, and a 2 minute plank. Don’t try to cut corners because if I catch you, you’ll end up being my sparring partner for the week, and trust me, you don’t want that.” [Name] said before she blew the whistle.

 

Warmups started without incident aside from a few slow starters. 

 

[Name] paced around the gym, keeping a sharp eye out for bad form or any form of slacking. Everything was going well until McCree started doing push-ups. He barely bent his elbows and didn’t come all the way down, and she saw him repeat it 30 times before moving on to planking.

 

She casually squatted down next to him.

 

“They teach you how to do those push-ups in Deadlock?”

 

“What?”

 

“Your push-ups. You tried to cut corners by being lazy, so you’re with me once we partner up.”

 

McCree swore.

 

(-)

 

“Okay guys, I hope you’re all awake because it’s time for your first sparring lesson!” [Name] said enthusiastically. If there was anything she got excited about, it was hand-to-hand combat. “Today, we’ll just be covering the basics - punches, kicks, grabs, throws, all that good stuff. I’ll be demonstrating on our friend McCree over here.”

 

She then got into an offensive position, bending her knees and putting her fists up to guard her face and chest. 

 

“The first rule of fighting in close quarters is to have a good stance, like so. This is because a proper stance allows you to attack or protect yourself quickly.” She explained. “What I’m doing right now is an ideal stance. That brings me to the second rule - the best offense is a good defense. In a fight, you want to maximize your power and minimize your vulnerability. You do not need to be stable as much as you need to be mobile and able to strike as hard as you can, like so.”

 

[Name] curled her hands into a fist and threw a powerful right hook at the punching bag behind her, sending it recoiling back upon impact. Like a pendulum, it began to swing the opposite direction once it reached its peak, and when it did, [Name] hit it with a roundhouse kick that was followed by an uppercut that sent it clattering off its hook.

 

She gave it a sheepish look. “Whoops. Looks like I got a little carried away. But you guys get the idea, right?”

 

“Will we be able to do that?” A recruit piped up, awestruck.

 

“Nope. The only reason I was able to to that was because of years of boxing.” She said. “What you will be able to do, though, is throw a proper punch by the end of today.”

  
  


“Captain, we already learned this. It was part of basic training.”

 

“Gabe - sorry, the commander, doesn’t like the way things are taught in basic training. Says you’re more susceptible to breaking bones because they don’t care as much as we do.” [Name] explained. “Before we start, I want all of you to make a fist. I need to know how many of you were taught the wrong way.”

 

The recruits did as she said, and to her surprise, not many people were doing it wrong.

 

“The majority of you were taught well, but DeSilva and McCree, you two need to readjust your fingers. Don’t tuck your thumb into your first - that’s a great way to break it.”

 

“Okay, now that that’s done, we can finally start with punches. Today, I’ll teach you the most basic type, called a one-two punch, and how to put power into them punches so that you’ll be able to do some damage.” She said. “When you throw a punch, you should be using your dominant hand. Whichever hand that is should also have the same leg extended slightly behind you for both balance and to put your weight into it, like this.”

 

She threw a picture-perfect punch, making sure that the recruits could see what she did before she held up a padded target. 

 

“Now, get into a line. I’m going to hold this target up and I want you to punch it with what I just taught you. It’ll hurt, and it’s okay if it isn’t good. Takes getting used to. McCree, start us off?”

 

Jesse stepped up and cracked his knuckles. “Don’t think you’re ready for this, captain.”

 

“Just go, McCree.” [Name] sighed, unamused.

 

He drew his fist back and hit the target with a rather lackluster punch. It must’ve showed in her face, because McCree grimaced almost immediately.

 

“Meet me here after dinner. You... need some work.”

 

(-)

 

The rest of the day progressed without incident, aside from the fact that McCree performed poorly in every single one of the close-quarters demonstrations. His skills were… disappointing, so say the least, but he was able to make up for it with his excellent shooting skills, though they were a bit flashy.

 

“Good job today, guys. I can already tell who’ll be great marksmen and who’ll make great hand-to-hand fighters. You’re dismissed for the day. McCree, remember what I told you.”

 

“Whatever.”

 

The recruits cleared out of the room, and once they were gone, Gabriel approached [Name] to congratulate her on her first day of training the recruits.

 

“You did well today,  _ mija _ .”

 

“McCree is a fucking handful. You sure you aren’t having second thoughts about taking him in?”

 

“He’ll learn eventually. By the time you’re done with him later, you’ll probably have drilled a lesson into his head.” Gabriel remarked. “Oh, do me a favor? Don’t send him to the medbay. Angela is already irritated with me because I gave Genji a black eye by accident.”

 

“Through his helmet?” [Name] asked, incredulous. “Nevermind, I don’t think I even want to know. But you know I can’t make any promises, Gabe. He kind of deserves it.”

 

“[Name], no.”

 

“[Name], yes.”

 

(-)

 

[Name] sat cross-legged on a mat as she scrolled through her phone, bored out of her mind as she waited for McCree. Dinnertime ended fifteen minutes ago, and he was nowhere to be found. He was late, making her grit her teeth. It was a simple fucking request!

 

Fifteen minutes after that, the door to the gymnasium finally creaked open, revealing the person she’d been waiting on.

“You’re late.” [Name] curtly informed him. “It’s not nice to keep your superiors waiting.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Why am I here?”

 

“Your skills in hand-to-hand combat are disappointing.”

 

“And it matters because…? I’d kill them before they even got close to me.” McCree shrugged.

 

“You’re too arrogant. What happens when you’re ambushed, huh?” [Name] challenged, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Will you still be arrogant then, or will you be begging them to spare your life?”

 

He sneered. “I’m not gonna let it get to that point.”

 

“Get on the fucking mat. You need to be knocked down a few pegs, because your arrogance will be what’ll get you killed.”

 

“Hmm, no. I’m leaving.”

 

Ignoring the blatant disrespect in his voice, [Name] calmly removed her combat knife from its holster and launched it at Jesse, pinning him to the wall by the collar of his leather jacket.

 

“I don’t remember saying that you could leave.” She stated. “Get. On. The. Mat.”

 

She yanked her knife out of the wall and inspected it for any damage before she tucked it back into its holster, then turned on her heel to go back to the mat without waiting for a response.

 

“I want to see what you’d be like in a real fight. Don’t hold back.”

 

She heard McCree huff before he threw the first punch, a left hook that [Name] easily sidestepped. She retaliated with a kick that he was just barely able to dodge, and in the moment it took for him to regain his bearings, [Name] took the opportunity to punch him in the face, causing him to stumble backward with a curse.

 

McCree wiped at his nose, which had started bleeding, before he charged [Name], tackling her to the mat.

 

She fell with a muted thud, and McCree fell with her, placing all his weight on her. [Name] gritted her teeth as she thrashed around, trying to displace him. Eventually she was able to shake him off, giving her the opportunity for her to scramble to her feet.

 

She began to circle around him, looking for a good opportunity to make her next move. The instant McCree let his guard down, though it was just a fraction, she rushed forward to knee him in the stomach, followed by a kick to his side. In the moment that she left her chest exposed, McCree sent a punch to the center of her chest. [Name] expected this, though, and she caught his fist before it made an impact. 

 

[Name] took his surprise as an opportunity to use his weight against him, flipping him onto the ground before she planted her boot in his chest. 

 

“Not so cocky now, are you?”

 

“Hey, fuck you,” he wheezed. “Why’d you go easy on me? I could tell that you weren’t putting your full force behind your attacks.”

 

She smirked. “If I had, I would’ve broken a couple of your bones. I made a promise to Gabe not to send you to the medbay.”

 

“Doubt you could do that.”

 

“Get up, McCree. Looks like you’re gonna find out.”


End file.
